Audi Nashville

2009 d'Vine Selections
Friday, November 13, 2009
A wine tasting & silent auction to benefit the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Nashville
   

John R Pennington was the lucky winner of the Audi R8 Driving Experience at our Grand Opening earlier this year.  On Oct 26, 2009, he visited the Audi Forum Sonoma, a new state-of-the-art facility and one of the best trackside-meeting venues in the world. With ceiling-high glass and only steps away from the famous Turn 1 and Pit Row exit, the setting is unparalleled. The 2.52 mile road course is a favorite among visitors and racers alike and is a featured stop for both the NASCAR and IRL racing series'.

    

  

DeLand, Florida - July 21, 2009. Young, talented race car driver Jade Buford, had his first taste of a Grand Am Rolex GT car when he tested the Races Edge Motorsports Mazda RX-8 at Barber Motorsports Park earlier this week. Jade finished fourth in his KONI Sports Car Challenge Series race on Saturday at Barber, then stayed around to participate in the official Rolex Series test on Monday. His first experience consisted of over 50 laps around the challenging Barber track sharing the track with other Rolex Series machines from both the GT and DP (Daytona Prototype) classes.

Team owner and veteran driver coach Jon Mirachi was absolutely impressed by Jade's day at the wheel of his team's red #30 machine. "He showed a tremendous level of maturity for such a young driver", Mirachi commented. "We gave him some homework to do to prepare for the test, he studied it thoroughly and was definitely prepared when he showed up. He took a very methodical approach to his first day in the new car but none the less settled into a comfortable rhythm very quickly. By the fifth lap he was already shifting quickly and smoothly, even though he had never driven a sequential shift race car before. We challenged him with learning left foot braking at the same time, which he hadn't done before either, and by the end of the test he was out braking even highly experienced, professional Mazda GT drivers!"

"Aside from his abundant talent behind the wheel, Jade was a joy to work with", continued Mirachi. "At various points during the day we spent time reviewing his driving data from the car's on board data collection system. He was able to understand my comments and advice for improvement and put it to use on the track. He's a fine young man with all the right attributes for an aspiring professional driver. I look forward to working with him again in the future."

Jade, for his part, had a few comments about the experience as well. "That car is amazing! Not only is it really fast, but it was surprisingly easy to drive. I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly the shifting and left foot braking techniques came to me. I was actually comfortable with everything in just a few laps. It was a great learning experience and I look forward to future opportunities to work with Jon and his team."

Next up for Jade and Racers Edge are plans to do another test with an eye toward racing sometime in the future. In the meantime, Jade will also continue to race his Mini in the KONI Sports Car Challenge Series. Keep an eye on this young man!

For further information about Jade Buford, please visit his website at: www.jadebuford.com and for more information about the Racers Edge Motorsports team, you can check out their website at: www.racersedgemotorsports.com .

  
On Wed, April 29th, Audi Nashville sponsored the Third Annual Belle Meade Plantation Golf Tournament.  On the grounds of the original Plantation, participants had a chance to win an Audi A4 Cabriolet as a Hole-In-One prize.  The Q7 TDI, S8, and R8 were also displayed.  Benefits go to all the educational programs at the Plantation.

Proceeds from the tournament will benefit:

Sponsorships to allow Title One schools below poverty line to attend educational programs

Equestrian Summer Camps

Educational Programs and

Carriage Collection Restoration
 

October 4th and 5th, Porsche technician, Nick Gwozdz, was able to give something back to the community by participating in a fund raiser for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. “Bike to Jack and Back” is a two day, 150 mile bike ride from Franklin to Lynchburg and back.


A note from Nick:

The ride went very well - it was a bit cold on Saturday morning but it became more comfortable after around 12 miles. There were numerous rest stops with lots of goodies to keep us going. Saturday evening we were treated to dinner up on Jack Daniel's party hill. Sunday morning was a bit warmer than Saturday had been, and the rest stops were just as good. I averaged 15mph on Saturday and 16mph on Sunday due to hanging onto a couple of good pace-lines.

There were 714 riders that weekend, and the tally at the end of the day on the 4th was in the neighborhood of $415,000 - of the 714 riders, 178 got to be V.I.B.E. members (Very Important Bike Entrepreneur) having raised at least $1000. Those 178 riders contributed almsot half of the total funds. Since then, more funds have been gathered (the deadline is Nov. 7th) but I'm not sure of the current tally.

It was a very rewarding experience and I look forward to doing it again next year.

Once again, thanks for your support - without it, I would not have been able to reach, and even exceed my goal.

Nick Gwozdz

To visit Nick's personal site, go to http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR/Bike/TNSBikeEvents?px=5204800&pg=personal&fr_id=9291&s_tafId=75354